The Price of Innocence

In a world obsessed with surveillance and where fingerprinting and DNA testing are routine, what happened to Shirley McKie could happen to anyone. Policewoman Shirley McKie's decade-long fight for justice led to her trial for perjury, the loss of her job and brought her to the edge of suicide. Her crime? To refuse to accept the misidentification of her fingerprint, allegedly found at a murder scene she should not have entered. But because she spoke the truth Shirley McKie was persecuted for years by senior police officers, ex-colleagues, forensics experts, politicians and government ministers. Described as 'one of the worst miscarriages of justice in a generation', her case eventually left the reputation of the Scottish criminal justice system in tatters. As the issues reverberated around the world, apparent links were revealed to other cases including the Lockerbie bombing, and Shirley's case was even raised at the Michael Jackson trial. In telling the full story for the first time, this book uncovers new information about the brutal murder of spinster Marion Ross, offers wide-ranging evidence of official incompetence and dishonesty, and suggests a conspiracy which might have sent an innocent man to prison for life. This authorized account, introduced by Shirley herself, has been written by her father Iain—her strongest supporter during her fight for justice—and author and broadcaster Michael Russell, who has campaigned alongside the McKie family for over seven years.